A crowdfunding appeal for the Ferguson officer who shot Michael Brown has attracted $50,000 more than the fund for the victim's family

An online fund for Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, has raised more in donations than the fundraising appeal for Brown's family.

So far, 5,100 donors have contributed a total of $210,000 to the GoFundMe page for Wilson, which is intended to "help him and his family during this trying time in their lives". In contrast, Brown's family fund has been active for twice as long, but has only raised $153,000 – some $50,000 less than the officer who shot the 18-year-old.

Who are the kind of people who would send money to an officer who hasn't even been arrested for shooting an unarmed teenager ? Helpfully, some of Wilson's backers have left messages of support on the page. Some messages call Michael Brown a "common street thug" and "a waste of good ammo".

One David Durant writes: "I support officer Wilson and he did a great job removing an unnecessary thing from the public!" (If you want to read more rage-inducing comments, Deadspin has compiled a list.)

Since Brown's death earlier this month, protesters have gathered in Ferguson and all across the US to protest police brutality and violence. Missouri police have responded to local demonstrations with tear gas, rubber bullets, sonic canons and wooden batons. The aggressive policing tactics have even prompted Amnesty International to send a team of observers to monitor the situation. On Tuesday, another man called Kajieme Powell was shot 9 times and killed by Ferguson police.

President Obama called for unity and understanding in a speech on Monday and has so far remained judiciously even-handed, telling reporters: "When they’re conducting an investigation, I've got to make sure that I don’t look like I’m putting my thumb on the scales one way or the other."

Sure, we don't know all the facts of what happened during the incident – nobody does, at least until they've passed through and been considered by a court of law. But when one man is dead and another isn't, why give the money to a person who unloaded six bullets into an unarmed victim?